Startup time was faster-than-average and switching from Play to Record and taking a shot was pretty quick. Buffer clearing times were good with a fast UHS-I card.

Shutter Response (Lag Time)

Full Autofocus,Single-area AF mode

0.187 second

Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, with the lens already at the proper focal distance setting. (All AF timing done with the bundled Panasonic 12-32mm kit lens.)

Full Autofocus,Multi-area AF mode

0.212 second

Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, with the lens already at the proper focal distance setting.

Full Autofocus,Single-area AF mode,Flash enabled

0.342 second

Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, with the lens already at the proper focal distance setting, auto flash enabled.

Manual Focus

0.101 second

For most cameras, shutter lag is less in manual focus than autofocus, but usually not as fast as when the camera is "prefocused".

Prefocused

0.087 second

Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.

The Panasonic GM1's autofocus was very fast in our tests, especially for a camera that uses contrast detection only. The GM1 produced full-autofocus shutter lag (with the subject at a fixed distance) of 0.187 second using 1-area (center) AF with the 12-32mm kit lens. That's faster than most CSCs, and faster than consumer DSLRs as well. 23-area AF was very slightly slower at 0.212 second, but that's still fast. Enabling the flash increased lag to 0.342 second, but that's still pretty fast. When manually focused, the GM1's lag time dropped to 0.101 second. The GM1's prefocused shutter lag time of 0.087 second which while quick, was a bit slower than average.

To minimize the effect of different lens' focusing speed, we test AF-active shutter lag with the lens already set to the correct focal distance.

Cycle Time (shot to shot)

Single Shot mode
Large/Fine JPEG

0.49 second

Time per shot, with no apparent limit.

Single Shot mode
RAW

0.50 second

Time per shot, with no apparent limit.

Single Shot mode
RAW + L/F JPEG

0.56 second

Time per shot, for 3 frames.

Early shutter
penalty?

No

Some cameras don't snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer.

Single-shot cycle times were very good. We measured 0.49 second for large/fine JPEGs, 0.50 second for RAW files and 0.56 second for RAW+L/F JPEGs.

Continuous High Speed "H" mode was slower-than-average these days, at about 4.5 frames per second for L/F JPEGs, and about 4 fps for RAW or RAW+JPEG files. Please note that Live View is not available during a burst in H mode.

With the all electronic shutter option enabled, though, burst rate increased to 9.9fps for L/F JPEGs, 10.3fps for RAW and 10.3fps for RAW+JPEG files, which is excellent. In Super HS mode, we managed 40 frames-per-second, though resolution is only 4 megapixels in that mode. Using the electronic shutter can lead to distortion in moving subjects and other side-effects, though, so keep that in mind.

Download speeds were reasonably fast, quick enough that you probably won't feel the need for a separate card reader, even with large memory cards. (Note that this test was performed with a SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/sec UHS-I SDHC card: Slower cards would likely show slower transfer times.)

Bottom line, the Panasonic GM1's performance is pretty good overall for a CSC. Startup is fast, mode switching is fast, and autofocus is fast. Full resolution burst speed with the mechanical second curtain shutter is mediocre, but very fast with full electronic shutter. Buffer depths are decent with JPEGs, though somewhat shallow with RAW files.

Battery Life

Below average battery life for a Compact System Camera.

Operating Mode

Battery Life

Still Capture, CIPA standard(H-FS12032 lens)

230 shots

Still Capture, CIPA standard(H-H020A lens)

220 shots

The Panasonic GM1 uses a custom rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack for power, and comes with both a single battery and charger. The CIPA-rated 230 shots per charge with the 12-32mm kit lens is well below average for a Compact System Camera (thanks to its small size), and much lower than a typical DSLR when using an optical viewfinder. We strongly recommend getting a second battery for your GM1 if you plan any extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.